Garment hook



` Dec. l2, 1967 G. A. I ITTELL lGARMENT HOOK Filed Sept. 9, 1965 BY W A T0RNEY$- v United States Patent O 3,357,068 GARMENT HOOK Gilbert A. Littell, Lexington, Ky., assignor to Talon, Inc., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Sept. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 486,018 10 Claims. (Cl. 24-227) This invention relates to a separable fastening device, and more particularly to an improved hook of a so called tailors hook and eye for use as a garment fastener.

In the manufacture of clothing, such as trousers, skirts and the like, it is the common practice to employ a hook and eye for fastening the waistband above the fly r placket opening which type of fastener is well known to those skilled in the art as a tailors hook and eye. Generally, this type of fastening device is one which includes an eye or loop member attached to one side of the waistline or placket, adjacent the opening, and a hook member whi-ch is attached to the waistband or placket on the opposite side of the opening. The hook member is inserted into the eye or loop and after being placed in engagement therewith holds the two end portions of the waistband or placket together in overlapped relation.

In one form, the hook member comprises a substantially rectangular base portion which rests against the surface of the garment and which has a flat front tongue integrally joined to one edge of the base plate by a stepped or cranked portion, such that the tongue lies in a plane parallel to said base plate but spaced forwardly therefrom; the tongue constituting the hook-like part adapted for detachableengagement with the eye or loop member. A

plurality of integral prongs, disposed about the periphery of the base plate and adapted to pierce a garment, extend downwardly substantially perpendicular to the plane of the base plate with the prongs spaced from each other,

so, that when the hook is placed in operative position relative to the garment, the prongs will rst pass through the garment and move into registration with slots or openings of a back-up plate previously positioned on the under side or lower surface of the garment. The prongs are then offset in the attaching operation to clinch the back-up plate to the hook member with the garment interposed between the base plate of the hook member and the back-up plate.

In this construction the tip of the tongue of the hook member is then spaced away from the upper surface of the garment with the tongue member being supported from the base plate in a cantilever manner -by the cranked or stepped portion which is located forwardy of the pronged members. In addition, the spacing between the under surface of thetongue and the surface of thegarment can be increased by providing a stepped or cranked portion to the back-up plate which spaces that portion of 'the back-up plate under the tongue member a further distance'away'frorn` the tongue member.

i That portion of the prongs bent under the back-up plate providesthe vsole means forclinching the back-up plate to the 'tongue member and if this clinching force is diminished, the'tongue member'will become loosely seated upon the garment so that the sharp peripheral edges of the hook member and its back-up plate can fray the threads of the garment until they are eventually severed, thus ruining the appearanceof the garment and rendering it useless..This can easily and most frequently occur when the garment is pressed because the pressure of the pressing buck will first engage the upper surface of the tongue member and, upon further movement of theA buck, as well as the pressure exerted thereby, the tongue member will be depressed and the full force will be exerted upon the stepped or vcranked portion, `resulting in a fracture of the hook at the stepped or cranked portion or acting upon the stepped or cranked portion in a manner so that the base plate of the hook is cammed upwardly away 3,357,068 Patented Dec, 12, 1967 `from the garment to thus pry the prongs out of engagement with the back-up plate and diminish the clinching force between the hook member and its back-up plate.

In another example of the prior art, the hook comprises a flat plate forming a front tongue, one end portion of the plate being folded over on itself transversely so as to lie beneath one end of the front tongue substantially in contact therewith, to provide integral spacing means of less length than the front tongue, which spacing means is adapted to lie in contact with the upper surface of the material of a garment when the device is attached thereto, and also for the purpose of elevating the front tongue above the material so as to be engageable with the eye member in its operative condition, with the free edge of the folded-over portion also providing stop means intermediate the length of the front tongue for limiting the movement of such eye member. While this particular hook is able to withstand the compressive forces of the pressing buck, the folded over portions provide a trap for dirt and moisture resulting in rust which can discolor and ruin the appearance of the garment.

Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention to provide an improved hook for this type of fastening device wherein the hook will always be maintained in proper spaced relation relative to the garment to which it is attached and to prevent the hook from collapsing when subjected to a pressing operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide -an improved hook construction which contains substantially flat plate members which will not rust and discolor the garment that it is attached to.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved hook which will cooperate with a back-up plate to remain securely fastened together when subjected to ya pressing operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved hook which cooperates with a back-up plate to securely hold a garment interposed between the two elements so that the garment will be maintained in position and the hook will be able to withstand great pressures exerted ltransversely thereon by a pressing buck.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide an improved hook and back-up plate construction which will have increased resistance to pivotal bending forces when in its operative condition.

Another object of this invention `is to provide an im proved hook and back-up plate construction which is simple and inexpensive in its manufacture and, at the same time, efficient and effective in its use.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention can be had -by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. l is a fragmentary perspectiveiviewof the ily front portion of a pair of trousers partly open, showing the improved hook of the present invention incorporated with the garment at the waistband thereof;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cooperating hook and back-up plate members;

FIG. 3 is an exploded side'view of the improved hook and back-up plate members shown in FIG, 2; j

FIG. 4 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the improved hook and back-up plate on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the hook attached by means of al back-up plate and placed in engagement with eye member as when in use on a trousers waistband; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the hook shown in FIG. 3 and taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. l a fragmentary portion of a trouser fly having a right leg portion 12, a left leg portion 14 and the usual waistband 16 stitched to the upper ends of these portions. The fly front of the trousers may -be secured together in any conventional manner, such as by a slide fastener 18, as shown.

There is attached to one meeting edge of the waistband in any suitable manner, a loop or eye member 20 and to the other meeting edge there is attached a hook 22. It will be obvious that the trouser meeting edges of the waistband are secured together by inserting the hook member 24 of hook 22 within loop or eye 20, so as to hold them securely fastened together.

According to the present invention, as more clearly shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 6, hook 22 is constructed preferably of a metallic stamping which has a substantially flat base plate portion 26 which carries a tongue or hook member 24 integrally joined along one edge. At its junction or stepped portion 28, tongue 24 is cranked forwardly for the purpose of placing the tongue in a horizontal plane spaced from, but parallel to base portion 26. Along the opposite lateral sides of base plate portion 26 there are located a pair of integrally formed raised rib members 30 and 32 which are reversely formed from the material so that the upper edges thereof lie substantially in the same plane as tongue 24, and extend from stepped portion 28 almost to the rearmost portion 34 of hook 22. As is best shown in FIG. 6, the material forming the sides of the innermost walls of ribs 30 and 32 is spaced so that the material is not folded over so as not to trap moisture and the like between the inner walls. Towards the rear of base plate portion 26, ribs 30 and 32 are curved downwardly to provide a substantially gentle slope to the rearmost portion 34 of hook 22.

The outermost walls of reversely curved rib members 30 and 32 define a substantially continuous flange or skirt 36 which surrounds base plate portion 26 and defines the outer configuration of the rear portion of hook member 22. Skirt 36 extends from one attachment prong 38 to a second attachment prong 40, with its lowerrnost edge 42 located in a plane spaced slightly above the flat lower surface 44 of base plate portion 26. As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the forward edge 46 of prongs 38 and 40 is located closer to the tip 48 of tongue 24 than is any part of the lower surface of reversely curved stepped portion 28.

Also shown in FIGS, 2, 3 and 4 is a back-up plate 50 which extends beneath hook 24 and provides the support therefore when the hook is secured to the garment. Backup plate 50 is provided with a pair of prong-receiving cutouts 52 and a cranked portion 54 which joins the flat front portion 56 to the raised flat rear portion 58 so that front portion 56 lies in a plane parallel to but :below the plane of rear portion 58. The outer edge of rear portion 58 includes a downwardly beveled edge 60.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 in attaching hook 22 to the garment or waistband, prongs 38 and 40 are passed through the material 62 and into registration with cutouts 52 of back-up plate 50, after which prongs 38 and 40 are bent over or clenched onto the rear surface of back-up plate 26, in a known manner. The tongue 24 is thus positioned away from the material 62, although parallel therewith, and, in combination with back-up plate 50, it constitutes a hook-like portion `member `adapted to be engaged with an eye 20, attached by clinched prongs to the other end of the material 64 forming the garment or waistband.

The resulting structure not only provides a low silhouette so that the tongue is spaced a short distance from the surface of material 62, but also provides adequate space for its engagement with the edge of eye 20, so that the forward edges of eye 20 engage and abut against the forward edges 46 of prongs 38 and 40.

As a result of my invention it will be seen that this structure provides a hook member which is substantially crush proof so that the compressive loads exerted by a pressing buck will first be carried by rib members 30 and 32, which form substantially the upper surface of hook member 22. Any load exerted thereon will be transmitted from rib members 30 and 32 to the relatively large base plate portion 26 so that the load of the pressing buck will be distributed over a relatively large area. It should be noted that the load will not be borne by skirt 36 because the lower edge 42 of the skirt is located in a plane which is above the plane of surface 44, thus edge 44 will not engage and sever the threads of garment 62. Also, stepped portion 28 is supported at each end thereof by rib members 30 and 32 so that it will not be subject to crushing under extreme loads of the pressing buck. Tip 48 of hook member 24 can be depressed a short distance without any harmful effects.

A portion of the load will be transmitted to prongs 38 and 40, but will not disrupt their clinching force because the rear portion 58 of back-up plate 50 will support base plate 26 of hook member 24 in a substantially stable manner. lt should be particularly noted that if for some reason, such as the garment not being properly positioned on the pressing buck, the load first engages tongue 24, the force of the load will have a tendency to rotate hook 22 about its attachment prongs 38 and 40. However, because the forward edge of stepped portion 28 is located intermediate the pronged members and slightly behind forward edges 46 of prongs 38 and `40, hook 22 will tend to rotate only about prongs 38 and 40. The lower surface of stepped portion 28 will not act as a fulcrum point, such as would be the case if the surface were ahead of edges 46 of prongs 38 and 40 wherein there would be a tendency to lift the lower contacting surface 44 of base plate 26 from engagement with material 62 to cause prongs 38 and 40 to pry away from their clinching engagement with back-up plate 50.

Another distinct .advantage of my invention is that rib members 30 and 32 shield base plate 26 from engagement with the pressing buck so that the length of plate 26 can be made relatively long to provide a better reactive force to the force exerted on hook 22 in normal operative condition without exposing plate 26 to any undesirable forces which would reduce its effectiveness. Also, it should be noted that the beveled edge 60 of back-up plate 50 will be adjacent to the lower surface of garment 62, but will not provide a sharp edge for the threads of the material to sever.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to an embodiment thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described hereinabove and as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sheet metal fastener hook cooperable with an eye member for connecting together overlapping parts of garment apparel comprising:

(a) a fiat base plate the lower surface of which is adapted to rest on the upper surface of a garment;

(b) means located in a plane above the upper surface of said base plate and formed integrally to extend along each side edge of said base plate, with each of said means including a prong member located adjacent the forward edge of said base plate; and

(c) a forwardly projecting tongue member lying in a plane spaced above said base plate and integrally connected to said forward edge of said base plate along an axis extending from one prong member to Y the other.

2. A sheet metal hook as claimed in claim 1, in combination with a back-up plate for applying to the inner surface of a garment at the base plate and adapted to be secured thereto by said prongs -with the garment material clamped therebetween so that said back-up plate extends at least partly under the cantilever-like portion of the forwardly` projecting tongue.

3. A sheet metal hook and back-up plate as claimed in claim 2 wherein the rear portion of said back-up plate lies in a plane spaced parallel and adjacent to said garment material and the front portion underlying said tongue is spaced parallel to said rear portion but away from said garment material.

4. A sheet metal hook and back-up plate as claimed in claim 3 wherein said front portion and said rear portion of said back-up plate are integrally connected by a stepped portion which underlies and is substantially parallel to that integral portion of said hook member that interconnects said base plate to said tongue.

5. A sheet metal hook and back-up plate as claimed in claim 4 wherein said prongs of said hook are clinched about said rear portion of said back-up plate adjacent said stepped portion thereof.

6. A sheet metal fastener hook as claimed in claim 1 wherein `said means extending along each of the two side edges of said base plate is a reversely curved rib member.

7. A sheet metal fastener hook as claimed in claim 6 wherein the outer peripheral edges of said rib members are located in a plane spaced both above the surface of said garment material and the lower surface of said base plate.

8. A sheet metal fastener hook as claimed in claim 6 wherein each of said rib members carries said prong member located on the outer peripheral surface thereof, each prong member depending downwardly below the lower surface of said back plate.

9. A sheet metal fastener hook as claimed in claim 8 wherein the forward edge of each of said two prong members is located closer to the tip of said tongue than is any part of the integral portion interconnecting said tongue to said base plate.

10. A sheet metal hook as claimed in claim 1, in combination with a back-up plate applied to the inner surface of a garment, and adapted to be secured thereto by said prong members with the garment material clamped therebetween, said back-up plate including a rear portion underlying said base plate of said hook and having an area substantially equal thereto, and a front portion which extends at least partly lunder the cantilever-like portion of the forwardly projecting tongue member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 166,031 7/1875 Reeves 24-146 275,295 4/1883 Train 24-146 466,803 l/ 1892 Schodsky 24--227 FOREIGN PATENTS 846,580 8/ 1960 IGreat Britain.

863,183 3/1961 Great Britain.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

E. SIMONSEN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SHEET METAL FASTENER HOOK COOPERABLE WITH AN EYE MEMBER FOR CONNECTING TOGETHER OVERLAPPING PARTS OF GARMENT APPAREL COMPRISING: (A) A FLAT BASE PLATE THE LOWER SURFACE OF WHICH IS ADAPTED TO REST ON THE UPPER SURFACE OF A GARMENT; (B) MEANS LOCATED IN A PLANE ABOVE THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID BASE PLATE AND FORMED INTEGRALLY TO EXTEND ALONG EACH SIDE EDGE OF SAID BASE PLATE, WITH EACH OF SAID MEANS INCLUDING A PRONG MEMBER LOCATED ADJACENT THE FORWARD EDGE OF SAID BASE PLATE; AND (C) A FORWARDLY PROJECTING TONGUE MEMBER LYING IN A PLANE SPACED ABOVE SAID BASE PLATE AND INTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO SAID FORWARD EDGE OF SAID BASE PLATE ALONG AN AXIS EXTENDING FROM ONE PRONG MEMBER TO THE OTHER. 